General Question

AstroChuck's avatar

I love eating my cereal from my Melmac bowls. Is this likely to kill me?

Asked by AstroChuck (37400points) September 1st, 2008 from iPhone

Seriously, these are my favorite bowls to eat from. Should I really worry about lead poisoning or are we talking a miniscule risk?

Observing members: 0 Composing members: 0

15 Answers

eeyore200343's avatar

if there was a high risk they wouldnt sell the bowls. but if u are worried then just eat out of a normal one. trust me the food will still taste the same! x

AstroChuck's avatar

They don’t sell the bowls anymore and haven’t in decades.

eeyore200343's avatar

oh errm well im not really sure then. i understand you like eating out of certain bowls as i do too. i wouldnt have thought you would get cancer off it. its just the same as anything else people can smoke for 40 yrs and not get cancer but people can smoke for 2 years and get it. its just the way it is. dont stop doing what you enjoy just because theres a risk. you could always chase it up and find out somewhere on the internet if you are worrried . google it.

Seesul's avatar

As far as I know, it is still being produced. I recently took a cruise on RCCL and the dinnerware in the buffet was all Melamine. I was beginning to think that they should have extended the plastics to the drink glasses when a lady smashed her glass on the elevator door and it broke into pieces into the threshold as the elevator door closed and proceeded to another floor. (She walked off in embarrassment, we reported it).

It shouldn’t be a problem unless you are grinding it up and putting it into the cereal, like the additives for cat food recently. I liked the bowls growing up, but hated the dinner plates because they got knife marks in them that stained forever and looked ugly.

If you want to be extra careful, don’t microwave or heat it, but cold cereal should be fine. Just don’t chew on those decals on the old jelly jar glasses. Bet you had those as well! I have often wondered in these days of recycling why they don’t bring the non-lead ones back. Remember the dishes in Duz detergent (or was that a Southern thing)?

AstroChuck's avatar

Seesul- Melamine and Melmac are similar but not the same thing. Melmac was removed from stores long ago because of lead poisoning concerns. Just wondering how much of a concern it is. I’ve been eating out of these bowls since childhood. Maybe this explains a lot about my personality?

marinelife's avatar

AC, Dr. Blonz says your bowls are OK: “There’s no problem when it is a component in a plate or a bowl.” He also has a link to the government data sheet on melamine exposure should you want to read deeper.

BTW, I loved the divided Melmac plates of the 50s!

AstroChuck's avatar

I was told that Melamine and Melmac were different. Wow. I was actually wrong for once. Sorry for the misinfo, Seesul.
Thanks for putting my mind at ease, Marina. Still don’t know how to explain my personality, though.

Seesul's avatar

If it changed your personality Chuckie, it did it for the better (at least the one that comes through on Fluther). I, for one, say you should keep eating out of that bowl. Better yet, (if you haven’t already) find one with Donald on it, it will taste even better. I know my DD glass mug (frosted in freezer) sure makes my Bubble Up floats even keener!

AstroChuck's avatar

Hey, isn’t Alf from the planet Melmac?

SuperMouse's avatar

@AstroChuck, that’s exactly what I thought when I read this question – whether I was correct in thinking that ALF came from Melmac! Then I wondered how you managed to procure bowls from the home planet from a fictional television alien whose real name is Gordon Shumway.

AstroChuck's avatar

I think it’s safe to assume that Alf borrowed “Melmac” satirically.

SuperMouse's avatar

So you don’t see this as a question of which came first, the alien or the bowls?

AstroChuck's avatar

Melmac bowls have been around for over a half century. I think I know which came first.

Seesul's avatar

Alf arrived around the time of my son’s first interest in TV. We still have talking Alf sitting here, keeping us company. My Melmac dinnerware is considered “vintage” online and in antique shops, so I guess I am as well. As I have stated before, I’m somewhere between gail and AC in “vintageness”.

Alf the TV show (1986)
Melmac the dinnerware?

My son’s kiddie set (which we still have is Melmac). His flatware was DD (of course). He would have had a DD bowl, but I couldn’t find one at the time. :(

stratman37's avatar

eeyore: I wish there was a “not so great answer” button! They sell cigarettes, don’t they?

Answer this question




to answer.


Your answer will be saved while you login or join.

Have a question? Ask Fluther!

What do you know more about?
Knowledge Networking @ Fluther